


The fortunate Wife of the Emperor and their foolish Son that means the World to them

by EmperorChris



Series: Sleuthing Trickster AU [2]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Persona 5 Protagonist is from Inaba, Ren is Naoto and Kanji's son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27376612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmperorChris/pseuds/EmperorChris
Summary: A collection of moments in Ren's childhood before being sent to Tokyo(Part of the Sleuthing Trickster AU)
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Shirogane Naoto & Tatsumi Kanji, Hanamura Yosuke/Satonaka Chie, Kujikawa Rise/Narukami Yu, Shirogane Naoto/Tatsumi Kanji
Series: Sleuthing Trickster AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958041
Comments: 9
Kudos: 57





	1. Year 0: Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> You guys don't know how long I wanted to write this by now

"You sure you're ok? It ain't like you to wolf down ya food like that." Kanji pointed out to his wife, who stopped for a moment and blushed as she realized what she was doing. 

"T-that is quite odd. I don't know why, but I've been feeling quite hungry the moment I woke up." Naoto's expression became thoughtful only for her to abruptly get up while covering her mouth. 

She turned around and ran as quickly as possible to the bathroom. Once she was in, Kanji could hear her audibly throwing up, making him worriedly rush to her. 

When Naoto calmed down, the couple went back to the dining room, with Kanji supporting her as she felt herself getting physically weak. Kanji's mother looked at her daughter-in-law with a concerned expression. 

"Are you alright, dear? You didn't eat too fast, did you?" the elderly woman asked. 

"I don't think that was the reason and if I'm honest, I don't feel that well right now." Naoto said in an exhausted voice. 

"Ma, I'm takin' her to the doctor. Can you look after the shop for me in the meanwhile." Kanji asked his mother, who nodded. 

* * *

The two of them went to the hospital shortly after, where Naoto was given a check-up. 

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Shirogane-Tatsumi!" the doctor told the couple as he entered the with the results of the examination. 

"Congrats on what?" Kanji asked as they both shot the doctor a confused look. 

"According to our results, your wife is pregnant, sir. The child will be born around May-June. Once again, congratulations to the both of you." the doctor smiled at the Shirogane-Tatsumis, who in turn just looked at each other in shock. 

"I-is everything alright?" the doctor became worried about their silence. 

"Y-yes, it's just a lot to process. Suffice to say that I'm quite happy." Naoto said as she started to tear up. 

"Thanks for tellin' us, doc. We'll be goin' now. Guess we'll see you in a few months." Kanji gave the doctor a grateful smile as he teared up himself. 

The couple left the hospital and Naoto shortly after enveloped her husband in a deep hug, crying tears of joy into his chest. Kanji hugged her back lightly, he didn't want to hurt the baby after all. They shared a brief yet passionate kiss before breaking up the hug. 

"S-so, I guess we should tell the others, right? I'm sure they'd want to know." Kanji sheepishly said, unaware of how he should be acting right now, making Naoto chuckle. 

"Of course, mother was quite worried about me. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear the news." Naoto said softly. 

The couple arrived back home, telling Mrs. Tatsumi the news. The elderly woman reacted similarly to them, even giving Naoto tips based on her experience. They then texted their friends, telling them that they wanted to meet up soon for 'old times sake'. 

* * *

"You think there's a reason why they suddenly wanted to meet up, partner?" Yosuke asked Yu as they were on their way to the Shirogane-Tatsumi household. 

"I might have an idea, but right now it's just conjecture." Yu replied with a pondering face, peaking his wife's interest. 

"Oooh, what is it? C'mon tell me, please~?" Rise asked him with pleading eyes. 

“Uhm~... No.” Yu gave her a teasing look to which she pouted in response.

“Well, who cares? What matters is that we get to hang out again, right?” Chie threw into the conversation.

“Chie, you’re really missing the point. It’s obviously awesome that we get to hang out as a group, but there’s no way Naoto would randomly suggest hanging out without some sort of ulterior motive.” Yosuke sighed.

“Seriously? Some form of _ulterior motive?_ Pfft yeah, how about you stop playing detective when one of our detective friends is right here.” Chie countered in an annoyed voice.

Their bickering continued as they walked. Yu and Rise smiled at them while watching.

“They’ve only been a couple for a year but they’re already bickering like an old couple.” Rise giggled.

“Guess some things never change. How long do you think it’ll take them to tie the knot?” Yu asked jokingly.

“Considering it took them 7 years to be a couple, I’d say about… 10 years minimum.” Rise answered with a snap of her fingers.

“Wow that’s pretty generous, I was thinking about 18 years.” Yu replied bluntly, getting a laugh out of his wife.

“Geez, that’s harsh. You make it sound like the chance of it happening is the same as the chance of Kanji knowing what sex is.” Rise stated jokingly, making Yu laugh.

“Now who’s being harsh?” Yu asked and chuckled.

* * *

“Ah it seems everyone’s here now.” Naoto said as the quartet arrived, Yukiko and Teddie having arrived a few moments earlier.

“Hey Naoto-kun, how have you been?” Rise cheerfully greeted her best friend.

“I have been great, what about-” before she could ask back, she stumbled and almost fell to the floor if Kanji didn’t catch her.

“Are you alright?” Chie asked with worry on her face.

“Don’t worry I was just feeling a bit fatigued.” Naoto explained reassuringly.

“Did she overwork herself again?” Rise asked her husband.

“No, she’s actually been taking it pretty easy.” Yu recalled and looked at their hosts.

“Well, guess the little one kinda ruined our plan.” Kanji chuckled and put a hand on Naoto’s stomach.

“Naoto-kun, are you?” Yukiko gasped as she understood Kanji’s implication. 

“Not entirely, Kanji. We did want to take you all off-guard but that wasn’t exactly the way we expected it to happen.” Naoto giggled, “But to answer your Question, Yukiko-senpai. Yes, I am pregnant.” she announced, causing the room to erupt with surprised reactions.

“OhmyGod OhmyGod OhmyGod! Congratulations Naoto-kun, you too Kanji.” Rise squealed at them, jumping up and down in excitement.

“I figured the two of you wanted to announce something like this today. Congrats, I know you’ll be good parents.” Yu smiled at them.

“What do you mean, you figured?” Yosuke looked at his best friend, still flabbergasted from the earlier reveal.

“I mean, he does work with Naoto-kun. He must’ve noticed some signs.” Chie assumed, to which Yu nodded.

“Pretty much, you were for the most part subtle, Naoto. However, you’re not exactly the type to eat three lunch boxes during lunch break.” Naoto blushed at Yu’s observation. 

“Guess those kinds of things really don’t slip your eyes, partner. Anyways, congrats you two. Knowing how big of a softie Kanji is, I won’t have to worry about him being a good dad. If the kid ever needs a wingman, you know who to ask.” Yosuke winked, to which Chie groaned.

“What?! Hell no, I’ll be a much better wingman than you, Yosuke! It’ll score in no time, thanks to Uncle Teddie.” Teddie announced with a prideful huff.

“How about you let it grow up, before doing t-that thing?” Naoto blushed in embarrassment.

“Anyways, the kid needs godparents, right? I-I mean it’s not like I want something to happen to you two, but you know, you can never be too sure and…” Rise kept on rambling before Yu stepped in.

“Alright, calm down, Rise. Don’t forget how cautious Naoto can be. She probably put some thought into it already.” Yu placed his hands on Rise’s shoulder, to cool down her excitement.

“We were about to address it, actually. And considering our options, we figured the ones suited best for the position would be you two.” Naoto smiled at Yu and Rise.

“If that’s alright with ya guys, of course.” Kanji added sheepishly, hoping they’d say yes.

“We’d be honored to.” Yu replied in a calm yet soft tone.

Rise teared up and acted as if Yu proposed to her a second time. She rushed at the couple and engulfed them in a big hug.

“Do you guys even need to ask? I would love to.” Rise started crying tears of joy.

“Phew, got pretty worried you guys didn’t feel up to the task there, not gonna lie.” Kanji laughed.

Once Rise actually calmed down, Teddie walked up to Yu, whispering something into his ear.

“That’s… a pretty good observation, Teddie. Well Rise, I guess you were wrong. Kanji _does_ know what sex is.” Yu said bluntly.

There was a brief silence until Kanji spoke up.

“I’m 23 dammit! Of course I would know that! Why would ya think otherwise!” Kanji yelled in embarrassment.

“Do I need to know the context as to why you would bring up such an assumption?” Naoto groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

“I mean, if it makes you feel better, we were talking about the possibility of Yosuke-senpai and Chie-senpai marrying.” the moment Rise said that, she knew she stepped on a mine.

The room exploded in shenanigans. Chie and Yosuke scolded the Narukamis, Teddie added fuel to the fire with bad jokes and Yukiko bursted out laughing so hard, she started tearing up and coughing.

Naoto and Kanji looked at each other and sighed. They didn’t know what surprises the future had for them but one thing was certain.

This was going to be an interesting family for their child to grow up in.


	2. Year 1: Taking the first step(s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing babies is hard

It had already been a year since Ren had been born. 

He was a rather quiet baby, only crying when he was uncomfortable, which was rarely the case. Although he was very shy during his first months.

For example when he first met his aunts and uncles, he immediately started crying and hid his face in his father’s chest. 

It took his parents almost half an hour to sedate him with plenty of soft kisses and tickling.

And when he eventually stopped crying, he would occasionally glance at them only to hide his face in the chest of whichever parent was holding him at the moment for the next hour.

Chie finally managed to break the ice when she decided to pull faces on Ren the moment he took another glance at them.

Ren laughed cheerfully at the faces she made, much to the relief of everyone, and started feeling more comfortable around them.

* * *

Ren’s first birthday came along on May 22nd.

When Kanji woke up, the first thing he saw was his son, gripping the bars of his crib.

Kanji observed his son, confused about what exactly his son was planning.

He slowly walked up to the crib and crouched down to Ren’s level.

“Hey there, little guy. Whatcha doin’?” Kanji softly spoke to his son.

Ren made a noise before gripping the bars again.

“You wanna get out? Come on, let’s get ya some breakfast.” Kanji picked Ren up.

To his surprise Ren made a dissatisfied noise and pouted at his father.

“Huh? What’s wrong, kiddo? You can talk to me.” Kanji gave his son a puzzled look.

Ren flailed with his legs a bit, which Kanji understood as a sign to put him down.

What Kanji didn’t expect was that Ren suddenly started gripping onto his leg.

“H-huh? Ren, are you alright? You need something, buddy?” Kanji decided not to move his leg and look at what Ren is doing.

Naoto soon woke up from the dialogue between her husband and son. She opened her eyes and saw Kanji standing next to the crib, looking down with wide eyes.

She redirected her vision towards where her husband was looking and saw Ren trying to pull himself up from Kanji’s leg.

When Ren managed to stand on his own, he looked proud of himself letting out a cheerful noise before becoming completely quiet. While it was great that he managed to get up on his own, he didn’t exactly know how to get down by himself. 

Naoto immediately got up from her bed and held a hand against Ren’s back when she saw his legs wobbling.

Kanji recovered from his initial shock of seeing his kid get up and let out a short chuckle.

“Geez, warn yer old man before ya pull a stunt like this. Almost had a heart attack.” Kanji crouched down and ruffled his now one-year-old son’s hair.

“I suppose we should have seen this coming, he already is a year old now. Speaking of which, happy birthday, Sweetheart!” Naoto planted a soft kiss on her son’s forehead.

“Time sure flies, doesn’t it? C’mon we should get him some breakfast.” Kanji got up before his stomach started growling.

“And I guess I should get some too.” the man sheepishly scratched the back of his head while Naoto and Ren giggled.

* * *

The rest of the former Investigation Team arrived in the afternoon after Ren had a nap.

Teddie immediately asked if he could hold Ren, only to get a no and a glare from the boy’s parents.

Yosuke tried to make Ren laugh with dumb fart noises, which didn’t work as the baby just shot him a confused look.

Yukiko put her joke glasses on Ren and bursted out laughing until Ren got curious about his new accessory and tried to put it in his mouth, which his grandmother thankfully prevented.

Chie imitated some kung fu moves from a safe distance, exactly 2 and a half metres without shoes on, as told by Naoto, making absolutely sure her baby boy wouldn’t get hurt. The baby clapped gleefully at his aunt’s performance, even kicking his feet up and down as a means to imitate her.

Rise cuddled her nephew as much as possible when his parents weren’t holding him, teasing him with a few tickles here and there and affectionately poking his cheeks.

When she did, Yu would look at Ren with a soft smile, making an effort to communicate with him and playing peek-a-boo with him to make him laugh.

To say his joy would make their hearts melt would be an understatement.

Once Rise was done cuddling him for the upteenth time, Ren crawled towards his father and grabbed him by the leg.

“Oh, you tryin’ ta get back up, buddy?” Kanji kneeled down to make sure his son didn't fall over.

“Awww, RenRen is already trying to walk.” Rise got a confused look from Naoto.

“RenRen?”

“Pretty cute nickname, right? Only fitting for someone as cute as him.” Rise said enthusiastically.

“Y-yeah, right.” Naoto decided not to think too much about it and looked back at her son.

Ren cheerfully laughed as he was capable of standing on his own without losing any balance. He slowly lifted one foot and managed to make a step forward. He managed to step a few steps further towards his mother before falling over.

Kanji immediately ran towards his son, to ease his pain from falling over and help him back up. Surprisingly Ren wasn’t crying instead he pouted and gripped onto his father’s leg for support.

“Man, the kid sure is a fighter.” Chie commented.

“Gooooo Ren!” Teddie cheered as Ren got up once again.

“Come on, we believe in you!” Yukiko added to Teddie’s cheering.

“Looking good there, kiddo. You’re almost there.” Yosuke remarked when Ren started walking again.

“You can do it, just keep believing in yourself!” Yu told his nephew in a motivating tone.

Ren steps started getting more and more consistent. The more he walked the faster he got. Once he arrived at his destination, he hugged his mother’s legs.

“He sure is a fast learner, ain’t he Naoto?” Kanji smiled at his wife, who was more than just proud about her son’s achievement.

“Yes, he indeed is.” Naoto smiled at her baby, who was still hugging her legs.

Ren looked up to Naoto and smiled back before opening his mouth.

“Ma..ma”

The room was silent for a moment before being filled with ‘Awwww’s.

Naoto could feel tears forming in her eyes but couldn’t care less about that. She carefully removed Ren’s arms and crouched down to envelope him in a deep hug.

“So Kanji, when do you think he’ll call you ‘Papa’?” Teddie asked Kanji.

“Eh, dunno. Just give him some time.” Kanji shrugged.

“You could always just teach him.” Yukiko offered, to which Kanji shook his head.

“Nah, no need ta force him. I mean, considerin’ how quickly he learns on his own...” he looked lovingly at his wife and son.

“I’m sure he’ll be willin’ to take the first step.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've said this at the beginning but man was it hard for me to write this.  
> But overall I think it worked out pretty well.  
> Fun fact: I actually read an article to see at which age babies start walking on average and apparently it was 12 months/ 1 year.  
> I could be wring since it was only one article but I just stuck with it to write it.
> 
> Like always, I hope you guys had as much fun reading this as I had writing it and I will see you guys next time ;)


	3. Year 2: A day without them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is surprisingly still alive

When Kanji woke up, he saw both his wife and son entering the bedroom. 

“Oh. Mornin’.” Kanji greeted them.

“Good Morning, Honey.” Naoto gave him a kiss on his cheek.

“Guh Mohni, Hanee.” Ren tried to repeat his mother’s words.

“Mornin’ to ya too, buddy.” Kanji ruffled his son’s hair.

“I take it you two had breakfast already?” Kanji asked to which Ren nodded.

“Ren woke me up half an hour before my alarm because he was hungry.” Naoto explained.

“Sheesh, Ren. Have some mercy on ya Ma.” Kanji chuckled.

Ren made an apologetic look towards his mother. 

“Naww, no need to worry about it, Sweetie. It just means that I get to spend more time with you.” Naoto’s heart practically melted when she saw Ren’s face lit up again.

While Naoto was getting ready and Kanji had some breakfast, the ladder’s phone buzzed. Kanji looked at it and frowned when he read what was sent to him.

“Ah, shi-” Kanji immediately covered his mouth when he noticed that Ren was standing nearby. Ren tilted his head and tried to mouth what his father was saying.

“It’s nothin’, dun worry ‘bout it.” Kanji scratched the back of his head. He then walked towards where Naoto was getting dressed . 

"Hey Naoto… There might be a slight problem."

"What is it?" Naoto asked, slightly concerned. 

"So uh, remember that one custom order I was given a few weeks ago? Something went wrong and I need to fix it today before the whole thing's ruined. And since you're at work and Ma's havin' her appointment at the hospital… " Kanji explained. 

"There's no-one that looks after Ren until Mother comes back." Naoto concluded with wide eyes. 

"Yeah, so what do we do about that?" Kanji asked. 

"It's going to be alright… I hope. If I remember correctly, Senpai should have today off, so we could leave it in his hands." Naoto hesitantly took out her phone. 

"You’re sayin' it as if there was a problem." Kanji gave her a confused look. 

“It’s just… this is the first time neither Mother nor us are able to look after him. I don’t know whether Ren will be alright or not.” Naoto admitted.

“Yeah, I’m worried ‘bout that too… Let’s just hope Senpai will be able to handle this.” Kanji put a hand on his wife’s shoulder and nodded.

Naoto then proceeded to call Yu.

“Hello?” Yu asked when he picked up.

“It’s me. Are you free today?” Naoto replied.

“Yeah, why? Did something happen?” Yu asked slightly concerned.

“To put it simply, neither Kanji nor I are capable of looking after Ren today. Usually we would have Mother look after him in these kinds of scenarios but since she is having an appointment at the hospital today, she won’t be here for a few hours.” Naoto explained.

“So you want me to look after him in the meanwhile. Alright, I can do that. I’m sure Rise would be more than happy to help out as well.” Yu answered, getting a relieved sigh from Naoto.

“Thank you. Mother leaves at one, so please be there at 12 so Ren gets used to your presence.” Naoto requested.

“Will do. I’ll see you in the evening.” Yu ended the call afterwards.

He then put his phone down at the table he and his wife were eating on. When he looked at Rise, she was beaming at him.

“At 12.” Yu explained with a knowing smile and chuckled at her excited antics.

* * *

Kanji and Naoto had already left and Ren was sitting on his grandmother’s lap, who was reading him a story.

“...and then they lived happily ever after.” she read the last line of the book and softly smiled at her grandson’s clapping.

When the doorbell rang, Ren looked at his grandmother.

“Door?” he asked.

“Mhm, come on dear, let’s go get it.” she answered and put him down from her lap to get up herself.

“We’re here~.” Rise announced when the door opened.

“Ah, right on time. Welcome, you two.” the elderly woman greeted the young couple.

“Thanks for having us!” they said in unison and gave her a small bow.

“Hey, RenRen! Look at you! You’ve already grown so much already.” Rise excitedly squealed.

"Hello!" Ren waved his hand at them. 

“Hey there, little guy.” Yu knelt down to the boy’s level and patted him on the head with a warm smile.

For the next hour, everything seemed to have gone smoothly. Ren energetically dragged Yu and Rise through the house either playing tag or hide and seek with them. However when his grandmother left for her appointment, Ren went completely silent, worrying the young couple looking after him.

“Something wrong, RenRen?” Rise knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Where Grandma?” Ren continued staring at the door, completely confused as to where his grandmother went.

“She’s got an appointment. Don’t worry, she’ll be back.” Rise reassured.

“Ap-po...” Ren tried to pronounce that weird word his Aunt just said. Seeing an opportunity to distract Ren from his confusion about his family’s absence, Yu stepped in.

“It’s ‘Ap-point-ment’.” the young adult tried to guide the boy.

“Apu.. Appoimenh?” Ren tried.

“You’re getting there, RenRen! Say it again, after me.” Rise then continued alongside Yu to teach Ren how to pronounce the word.

Once he got it down, the boy clapped enthusiastically, warming the young couple’s hearts.

“Good job, Ren. How about we reward you for it? Is there anything you want to do?” Yu asked softly.

Ren thought for a moment, and then pointed at a book on a nearby shelf. Yu picked up the one he assumed Ren was pointing at and looked back at the ravenette boy.

“This one?” Yu asked and got a few excited nods from his nephew in response.

“You’re a little bookworm aren’t you?” Rise affectionately ruffled Ren’s hair.

* * *

Yu and Rise then sat down on the couch, putting the little guy on his aunt’s lap, who would hold him securely in her arms.

Yu started reading out ‘The calm detective’ for the young boy, who was completely hooked on it, despite not understanding every word. Rise couldn’t help but giggle at the boy’s excited reactions.

“Didn’t expect you to be interested in that kind of stuff already.” Rise muttered as she looked at Ren, who was smiling back at her.   
  
“Who knows? He could make a great detective in the future.” Yu said half-jokingly, getting an excited squeal from Ren in response, causing Yu’s heart to melt.

“Guess you already know what the future holds for you, don’t you, RenRen?” Rise asked softly.

“Mhm.” Ren nodded determinedly. “Be de-dete....” Ren again tried his best to properly pronounce it.

“De-tec-tive” Rise spoke loud and clearly in order to guide Ren.

“Detective.” Ren repeated.    
  


“There you go, Ren.” Yu smiled proudly at his nephew. “Wanna tell us what you want to be in the future again?”

“Be detective.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said this last chapter already but writing babies/toddlers is hard.  
> Thankfully, Ren should be able to talk more comprehensable next chapter (whenever that is) so that's gonna be easier.  
> Overall I think it got pretty cute in the middle part but I kinda didn't know what to do in the last part, so I hope it turned out alright.  
> I should probably also mention that I have little to no experience in babysitting/spending time with babies/toddlers.  
> I've said it here and in the main fic many times before but I'll say it again. I got some fun stuff planned in this fic, getting there is the hurdle I need to overcome first.  
> As always I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I had writing it and I'll see you guys next time :)

**Author's Note:**

> Woohoo new fic.  
> I really wanted to write more fluff about the Shirogane-Tatsumis ever since I wrote that flashback in Chapter 4 of the main fic.  
> Each Chapter will contain one event in each year of Ren's life before Tokyo, hence the title of the chapter.  
> Expect a lot of Shenanigans to happen and a deeper look into Ren's relationship with the IT  
> Also can you guys guess what chapter 11 is gonna be 😉  
> Like always, I hope you guys had as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it.


End file.
